Halfway House
by PrehistoricCat
Summary: Somewhere in an undeterminable place in time is a point where many anomalies open - and a refuge for weary travellers lost in time.


**For Anniemouse**

**And as always, comments are appreciated.**

* * *

Claudia studied the new arrivals carefully as they entered the room and glanced around nervously. They didn't look like the usual waifs and strays that frequented this place and they stood out like sore thumbs. They didn't look like first timers either though; they were usually easy to spot from the 'bunny caught in the headlights' expressions on their faces. No, these two men were different and that intrigued her.

The younger of the two men strode over. "Can I help?" she asked.

"We're hoping you can point us in the direction of somewhere to stay the night. My father isn't well."

His soft Irish accent sent a pleasant shiver down her spine and she couldn't help smiling. He had nice eyes too, friendly and warm. What on earth was he doing in a place like this with a sick old man in tow? "You're in luck," she smiled. "I have a room with a couple of beds that you can use. It's nothing fancy, but the beds are comfy."

"How much?" he asked. "I'm afraid we don't have much in the way of money." He was reaching into the back pocket of his jeans for his wallet.

"Put your money away. The room is rent free for anomaly travellers, we look after our own here."

"You know about anomalies?"

She nodded and held out her hand for him to shake. "Claudia Brown. Stepped through an anomaly four years ago to go looking for a missing friend and ended up here."

"Matt Anderson," he smiled, shaking her hand. "And that's my father, Gideon, over there. We've been travelling for a few days and didn't intend to stop until we'd reached our destination."

"The anomalies can take their toll on you if you're not used to them," Claudia said. "You were right to take a rest. I'll get someone to take you both up to the room whilst I fix you something to eat."

"That's very kind of you, Claudia. It's been a while since we both ate a decent meal."

"I figured that," Claudia said, looking Matt up and down. He seemed far too skinny to her. "Like I said, we look after our own here. You're not the first to show up exhausted and hungry with no money and sadly you won't be the last." She beckoned for a girl who was sat in the corner to come over and instructed her to show Matt and his father up to the guest bedroom.

After they'd disappeared through the door that led upstairs, Claudia set about cooking the promised meal for her two new guests. Vegetable stew was probably her safest bet; it was warming and would fill their bellies. It was also the only dish she could cook confidently with no preparation beforehand.

The kitchen was soon filled with the smell of the stew as it bubbled away in the large saucepan on the hob. Rummaging around in the cupboards, Claudia also found some suet. It had been some time since she'd made dumplings, but they would add some extra bulk to the meal.

"Claudia?" Matt was stood in the doorway.

"Is everything OK with the room?"

"It's great, thank you. I'm afraid my father was more in need of sleep than he is food. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. I thought I should let you know, wouldn't want to waste food."

"I'll put some aside for him, " Claudia said softly. "He might be hungry later and I can just reheat it."

"Thank you."

Claudia felt Matt's eyes watching her as she dropped the roughly made dumplings into the pan with the stew. She couldn't help wondering what his story was. It sounded like he and his father had planned their journey. She'd been right about them being different; they weren't accidental travellers like most of the people she helped.

"What is this place?" he finally asked. "You said 'we look after our own'. Are there more people here that have gone through anomalies?"

Claudia nodded her head and silently handed Matt a glass of wine. After pouring one for herself, she motioned for him to go back through to the bar and they settled down at a small table in the corner. "This town is a unique place as far as we know. It's not in any specific year. You could say it's simply a neutral point. For some reason, anomalies open here from all over time and over the years it's become a safe haven for those that have been stuck travelling from one anomaly to the next trying to find a way home."

"So everyone here came through an anomaly?"

Claudia nodded. "Some only stay for a few days. They get cleaned up, have a rest and then move on again when the next anomaly opens. Some are trying to get back home, some are looking for people they've lost. Others find they like it here and figure they've nothing to go home to so may as well settle here."

"And you? You said you were looking for someone?"

Claudia's expression changed to one of sadness. "I was. A man I was in love with once. He went through an anomaly with his ex-wife and never returned."

"Ouch," Matt sympathised. "Did you ever find him?"

She shook her head. "For all I know, he may have turned up the day after I left." For a moment she seemed lost in her own thoughts, then shook herself out of them and focused her attention back on the young man in front of her. "What about you? You and your father didn't just accidentally end up trapped on the wrong side of an anomaly. Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes, but not in the same way you are."

"Your mother? Maybe I can help? That's what I do, that's why I set up this place." Claudia stood up and went over to the bar itself. Beside the cash register was a huge folder and she brought it over, opening it up on the table. Inside were hundreds of photos; men, women, old, young. "Every single person in here is looking for someone they've lost. Perhaps she's in here?" She pushed the folder closer to Matt.

He gazed at it in awe. He hadn't realised that there were so many people lost in the maze of anomalies, all aimlessly wandering around in search of a missing loved one. He counted himself lucky. The route to the early 21st century had been mapped out for him and his father many months ago; three anomalies had brought them here and there were two more to go before they reached the place they believed they needed to be.

"I'll leave you to browse for a few minutes whilst I go and check on your stew, it should be almost ready." Claudia disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Matt staring at the folder.

He wondered if he could trust Claudia with what he knew. Perhaps the person he was looking for was in the folder? What if they'd already done the damage and had escaped? He suspected Claudia had memorised every person in the folder and what their story was; if there was a crazed scientist amongst them, chances are she'd remember.

She returned a few moments later carrying two large steaming bowls of delicious smelling vegetable stew. "This looks fantastic, you're far too kind," Matt smiled gratefully. He hadn't realised just how hungry he was and as soon as the hot food touched his lips his stomach growled and he began to devour the stew and dumplings. Then he remembered himself and apologised for his manners.

"Don't worry," Claudia said. "Nice to see a man enjoy his food. I left some in the pan for your father if he wants it when he wakes up." She watched Matt with amusement as he ate. The poor man was clearly hungry. She supposed he'd probably been worried about making sure his father was OK and hadn't really taken as much care of himself as he should. He still hadn't answered her question though. "Did you see anyone resembling the woman you're looking for? Or is it a man?"

Matt sighed. "I don't know who I'm looking for yet."

"Oh?"

"It's complicated."

"I have all night." Claudia leaned back in her chair, took a sip of her wine and looked Matt straight in the eyes. "Believe me, over the last couple of years I've seen and heard everything. There's very little that can shock me."

"My father and I are from a time many years from now. Our world is one where every breath has to be fought for. It's barren and the surface inhabitable."

"What happened?" Claudia blinked. "Nuclear war?"

Matt shook his head. "Someone did something to the anomalies. The energy created by whatever they did caused a disaster of apocalyptical proportions."

"And you're going to find the person who did it?"

"In a nutshell, yes. Though quite where I start looking, I'm not entirely sure. We traced it back to some time in the early 21st century but that's all we have to go on at present. I'm guessing it would have to be someone that knows about the anomalies."

"Then it sounds like we could be looking for the same person." Claudia leaned forward. "I used to work for the government and got myself caught up in a top secret project; the kind of project where you have to sign the official secrets act and agree to not disclose anything about what you're doing."

"Anomalies?"

"Our team turned up whenever an anomaly opened and dealt with whatever they spat out."

Matt felt like something was finally clicking into place after all of the years of research he'd done had failed to find a proper starting point. "The man you fell in love with... was he involved with this team?"

"Professor Nick Cutter. It was his baby if you like. He wanted to find out how they worked so that he could stop them."

Matt committed the name to his memory. It certainly sounded like he could be a strong candidate in his search, although hadn't Claudia said that he had disappeared? "Is he clever enough to work it out do you think?"

"Undoubtedly," Claudia nodded. "Do you think he could be responsible for your disaster?"

"It's a possibility."

She blinked, almost disbelieving what she was hearing and yet it wasn't completely outrageous either. Nick hadn't struck her as deliberately evil though, so if he was the one Matt was trying to find she was certain that whatever he'd done was unintentional. It was more likely that his scheming ex-wife was the one that had done it. She didn't want to think about it. The end of the world was not a pleasant thought and the fact someone she knew could be a major player in events made her head spin.

"I should leave you to finish your meal in peace," she finally said, standing up. "Do you have everything you need? The bathroom is just down the hall from your room and there should be clean towels for when you take a shower in the morning."

"The girl that took us up to the room earlier showed us where everything is, thank you."

"Then I'll wish you pleasant dreams and I'll see you in the morning." Claudia scuttled away like a frightened mouse, leaving Matt to his own thoughts. He'd learnt more from her in the last half an hour than he'd learnt in six months of his own research and felt a renewed energy. At last he had a lead to work on. If he could he'd be on his way now, but the anomaly they needed wasn't due to open until mid-morning. He supposed he should follow his father's lead and try to get some sleep.

-o-

Matt had hoped that Claudia would be around when he woke up and went downstairs to the bar in search of some coffee, but she was nowhere in sight. There was a man at the bar instead and he greeted Matt with a smile. "You must be Claudia's new guest? She said you might come down looking for breakfast. I can rustle you up some coffee and toast if that's OK?"

"That would be perfect, thank you. My father is just taking a shower, he'll be down shortly."

"Oh don't worry. I can bring it up to your room on a tray."

A few minutes later as they sat on their beds drinking coffee, Matt noted that his father looked much better. It was a good sign. He had feared that maybe he was being consumed by the same illness that many of his peers had suffered before dying.

"A good night's sleep has done me the power of good, Matthew," Gideon said. "You should do the same. You'll need all of your energy once we start tracking down this person."

"I'm fine, dad. You know me."

"Yes, I do, and that's what worries me."

Matt shook his head. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept properly. He was used to sleeping in bursts of three or four hours at a time, taking it in turns to keep watch for predators or other humans that might try to steal their food or water supplies. It would be a hard habit to break.

Gideon glanced at his watch and began to gather his things together. "We only have half an hour before the anomaly is due, Matthew. We should be making a move."

Matt agreed and they made their way down the stairs to the bar. Matt put the room key on bar by the till and turned to leave, coming face to face with Claudia.

"You're leaving?"

"Our anomaly is due in a few minutes. If we miss this one, the next is not due for another three weeks," Gideon said, coming over and holding out his hand to shake Claudia's. "Thank you for your hospitality, Ms Brown. I am sure there will be many weary travellers like ourselves who will be grateful for this place, just as Matthew and I were last night."

"You have a timetable for anomalies?" Claudia's mouth gaped as Matt nodded. "Wow! There are people here who would probably give their right arm for that kind of information."

"Indeed," Gideon said. "Unfortunately we had to leave all of that technology behind. We couldn't risk being caught with anything that might give away our true identities."

"Shame," Claudia sighed. "Then I wish you luck and every success in your task."

The two men nodded a goodbye and turned to go out of the door. Just as Matt was going through, she called out. "Matt?" He turned around, questioning her with his eyes. "If you do find Nick," she said. "Tell him that I did try to look for him. Tell him that I love him."

"Perhaps you could tell him yourself? Come with us, Claudia. You can help us."

She hesitated for a moment. It was incredibly tempting. "I can't," she said. "My place is here now. The lost and the weary need me!"

Matt moved forward, put his arms around her in a hug and kissed her forehead, making her blush. "You're a good woman, Claudia Brown, and I'm glad I met you. You've helped me more than you'll ever know."

"Likewise. If you and your father are ever passing through this way again..."

"We'll be sure to visit, and I'll recommend your establishment to all of my anomaly travelling friends."

She watched wistfully as he finally went through the doorway and closed the door behind him. Should she have taken him up on his offer after all? Could she have faced seeing Nick again after all of this time? She'd changed considerably since she'd set up here, and he probably had too.

She pulled herself together and tried not to think about him. Until yesterday, she'd managed to keep that chapter of her life tucked away in the back of her mind, and she could push it back there again. Her life was here and her job was to help others like Matt and his father who had far more important roles in the grand scheme of things than her.

With a smile, she climbed the stairs up to the room they had just vacated. It would need to be cleaned and fresh linen put on the beds, ready for the next weary travellers to arrive.


End file.
